{"id":103119,"date":"2022-06-09T04:32:14","date_gmt":"2022-06-09T10:32:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=103119"},"modified":"2022-06-09T04:54:57","modified_gmt":"2022-06-09T10:54:57","slug":"green-tailed-towhee-in-the-uinta-mountains","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2022\/06\/09\/green-tailed-towhee-in-the-uinta-mountains\/","title":{"rendered":"Green-tailed Towhee In The Uinta Mountains"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Green-tailedGreen-tailed Towhee peeking out of sage \u2013 Nikon D500, f8, 1\/640, ISO 500, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

While photographing Yellow-bellied Marmots in the high Uinta Mountains<\/span><\/a> two days ago a Green-tailed Towhee popped into my view on top of a mound of sage.<\/p>\n

A few minutes prior to this sighting I had photographed a Green-tailed Towhee singing from the top of a small conifer from a distance. This might be the same bird. I can’t be sure.<\/p>\n

The light angle I had on the towhee wasn’t the best but I knew if I started my Jeep the bird would dash into the shrubs and disappear. The towhee was so close to me that I opted to take portraits of it. I watched this towhee capture prey and eat it. The prey looked like a hoverfly in my images.<\/p>\n

Green-tailed Towhees are colorful members of the sparrow family. This time of the year these towhees can be much easier to spot than they are later in the breeding season.<\/p>\n

The towhee popped in and out of my view and when it was hidden in the low-growing shrubs I photographed the marmots. When the towhee showed itself I photographed it. It was fun having the marmots and the towhee so close together and sharing them with my friend Steve.<\/p>\n

An Unusual Bird Sighting Of Note<\/h2>\n

Before leaving the area and getting back onto Mirror Lake Highway to head higher up me and Steve saw a Northern Mockingbird which surprised both of us. I’d never seen a Northern Mockingbird that high up in the Uinta Mountains before. I’d never seen a Northern Mockingbird in the Uinta Mountains period. I checked on eBird and there aren’t any sightings listed on it for that area of Mirror Lake Highway. I didn’t think to take a documentary photo of the mockingbird and now I wish I had.<\/p>\n

Life is <\/em>good.<\/p>\n

Mia<\/p>\n

Click here<\/a><\/span> to view more of my Green-tailed Towhee photos plus facts and information about this species.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

While photographing Yellow-bellied Marmots in the high Uinta Mountains two days ago a Green-tailed Towhee popped into my view on top of a mound of sage.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":103113,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[27,2212,1731,8514,3886,26],"tags":[4004,2519,11480,4142,3905,820,4069,4192,4104,2303,4046,2817,4057,855,4195,165,5908,4854],"class_list":["post-103119","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-avian","category-green-tailed-towhees","category-summit-county-utah","category-uinta-mountains","category-uinta-national-forest","category-utah","tag-adult","tag-artemisia-tridentata","tag-big-sagebrush","tag-close-up","tag-green-tailed-towhee","tag-mimus-polyglottos","tag-mountains","tag-northern-mockingbird","tag-perched","tag-pipilo-chlorurus","tag-portrait","tag-sage","tag-sagebrush","tag-sparrow","tag-sparrows","tag-spring","tag-towhee","tag-towhees"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/green-tailed-towhee-adult-in-sage-mia-mcpherson-6465.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-qPd","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":103279,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2022\/06\/14\/yellow-bellied-marmot-photos-from-the-uinta-mountains\/","url_meta":{"origin":103119,"position":0},"title":"Yellow-bellied Marmot Photos From The Uinta Mountains","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"June 14, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Last week I showed my friend Steve Mirror Lake Highway in the Uinta Mountains and I was able to put him on a lifer Yellow-bellied Marmot.","rel":"","context":"In "Summit County"","block_context":{"text":"Summit County","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/utah\/summit-county-utah\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Yellow-bellied Marmot in the Uinta Mountains, Uinta National Forest, Summit County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/yellow-bellied-marmot-adult-high-uintas-mia-mcpherson-6362.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/yellow-bellied-marmot-adult-high-uintas-mia-mcpherson-6362.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, 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McPherson","date":"July 10, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Until two days ago I had never gotten photos of a juvenile Green-tailed and young Spotted Towhee in the same frame so I was thrilled when I saw them fly in.","rel":"","context":"In "Bird ID"","block_context":{"text":"Bird ID","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/bird-identification\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Juvenile Green-tailed and Spotted Towhee comparison, Wasatch Mountains, Summit County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/green-tailed-and-spotted-towhee-young-mia-mcpherson-4203.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/green-tailed-and-spotted-towhee-young-mia-mcpherson-4203.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, 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